New Beginnings
by Othiara
Summary: Audrey went into the barn. Nathan is left devastated in a broken down Haven. Twenty-seven years later, she returns.
1. Elsewhere

She was gone.

This was the thought that filled Nathan Wuornos's head as he lay on the ground. Everything was over. The troubles. He could feel the cool dew on the grass and a slight breeze. Two bullet holes from where they pierced into his torso. He hated it. A constant reminder that she wasn't there.

She wasn't the only one not there. Duke had gone with her. Much as he hated to admit it, he missed his childhood friend - or perhaps friend wasn't the right word. He didn't know if there was a word that fit what they had.

If he had missed the pain of bullets lodged in his chest, it had only been because he couldn't remember it correctly. Hopefully this would serve as a reminder. He wouldn't miss this when she came back. If he made it. The thought didn't bother him so much now. He was supposed to save her. He had never stopped to think about the alternative. What if he didn't?

He had brushed away the thought before. He had to save her. There was nothing else. Failure hadn't been a real possibility. Now it was here. Now that question mattered. Twenty-seven years was too long a wait. He had to find another way. He could still save her. What if she really needed saving? Howard wasn't in there driving, as he put it, so what if it didn't work right?

He winced at the pain from the bullets. It was getting worse. His thoughts were getting less coherent and slowly deteriorating. Maybe someone would find him. Help him. He still hoped for that, if only for Parker's sake.

Parker. Audrey Parker. He didn't care what she would call herself next time; she would always be Audrey Parker to him.

The meteors were roaring across the otherwise black night sky. It would have been beautiful if he didn't know that each of them was bigger than he was, and they would kill people and destroy homes. He had to help those people. That was his duty right then.

He tried to rise to his feet. Pain pierced through his entire body, and he lost his balance. He toppled back into the grass.

"Need some help?" He glanced up at Dwight, who now stood above him.

"Yeah, I guess I could use a drive to the station."

"Looks like you'd be more suited for a trip to the hospital." Dwight was eyeing him and his look seemed to confirm his original opinion. It made Nathan feel a bit uncomfortable. He knew it was probably the right solution, and he was in too much pain and losing too much blood to get anything done at the station. He could use a quick fixing up. He gave a slight nod. Dwight helped him up and into his car.

Dwight's car was neater than Nathan had expected. It almost made him feel guilty that he was getting blood all over the passenger seat. The town needed his help, and he didn't have too much confidence that the hospital had made it out of the meteor shower okay.

They found the hospital in about the condition Nathan had expected. The west wing had been hit by a meteor. All of the patients there at the time were dead. They were moving the others to a safer hospital in a nearby town. It was just a safety procedure, and Nathan protested his having to go to a nearby town but had to go with the others. They drugged him, which he was also unhappy about. He slipped into an unhappy sleep.

* * *

Where was she? The barn. It was the barn. She had gone in.

It felt like they weren't moving, but she knew they were. Didn't the barn move?

Her surroundings slowly registered in her mind. The white hallways with the doors that didn't swing out. James. Someone she wasn't expecting. She felt like there was someone else there too, just out of the limits of her eyesight. She recognized the first person immediately.

"Duke!?" Her exclamation woke him the rest of the way. He rolled over and glanced at her warily.

"You shouldn't be here. How did you even get in here?" She sighed. She wouldn't tell him how happy she was to see him. She knew it was selfish, but she loved seeing him, even just for a little while longer. Duke rose to his feet and stretched.

"Now, I don't think that's any way to greet a friend." She glared at him.

"I told you not to come. In fact, I told you not to let Nathan come. I suppose he's around here somewhere too?" She gave him a playful, cross look, but his expression had changed. It was more somber. What was wrong?

"Duke," she said, getting his attention, "What is it? What's up?" Panic rose in her gut.

"Nathan got shot. Twice." He had a pained look in his eyes. He hated giving her that news. No. Oh no. Not Nathan. He wasn't dead. She tried to calm herself. Duke didn't say he was dead. Was that what he meant? Did she really want to know?

"Is he..." She couldn't say it. He knew what she meant. He always knew what she meant.

"I don't know. I didn't stay long enough to see. He told me to come." He looked into her eyes. She knew it scared him too. She had already seen him die twice. Once she had made time repeat. The other she had triggered a girl's trouble. She would find something to do this time. This wouldn't be the last had been gone. He would have felt it.

"He shot Howard first. Then I shot Jordan. They're dead." He looked down at his feet. Agent Howard was dead? Would that change something? Didn't he say he was the driver?

She stood and moved toward the other person she had seen, desperately wanting to change the subject. Arla had gotten in somehow. She was healing well. Her eyes opened; they filled with a deep anger. It was lucky that she was too badly hurt to stand up yet. Audrey didn't know if she was ready to fight someone yet. She backed away quickly and nearly tripped on Agent Howard.

"He didn't kill him in here did he?" She looked at Duke. Everything about this confused her. Without waiting for a response, she continued, "I don't see any bullets. No blood either." Duke looked as confused as she felt. Agent Howard opened his eyes.

* * *

Audrey jumped back looking like she had just seen a ghost. Then Duke saw why. Agent Howard rose up. He looked just fine. Unharmed. Definitely not like Nathan had shot him just a half hour before. He looked like he didn't get why Audrey looked so surprised.

"You can't kill me. I was charged with getting you from place to place. Death doesn't change that," he smiled at them, "I see you've brought a friend." He eyed Duke, and Duke backed up. He decided he didn't like this guy. Audrey seemed to trust him a little too much. A voice spoke. Duke jumped at the sudden sound from behind him, then felt silly. It was only James.

"You guys are already up," he gave Audrey a confused look, "You woke up? You didn't last time." Duke wished he could punch this guy for the look he was giving Audrey, but he knew she wouldn't like that.

"What did I do last time?" Audrey looked curious. Duke could see that she trusted James much more than James trusted her. He inched away from her and looked tense. Audrey was stressed. Between her son, Nathan, and the lack of answers they were getting, he couldn't blame her.

"You just stayed asleep. I guess you might have woken up but gone back to sleep. I didn't wake up for a little while." Her eyes widened in panic. Worry sparked in Duke's gut at the thought that she would be going back to sleep soon.

"Hey, do you know how to stop this thing before that happens? 'Cause I kind of don't want to stick around for the 27-year experience."

"The time passes faster here than out there. A couple of days, maybe a week, and we can get out again." Duke tried not to think about all the things he was leaving behind. Twenty-seven years was a long time. What would change?

"Okay, I don't entirely understand how that works." Duke wouldn't have given up any time with Audrey, even if it meant losing 27 years. He knew even a few hours or days were worth it. He didn't tell them any of that. He didn't tell them how much he loved her.


	2. Questions

Nathan got out of the hospital a couple of days later. He hated every minute of it. The helpless feeling bothered him. He should be helping the helpless, not pretending he was one of them. The constant pain from his wounds, the slight breeze, and almost everything else served as a reminder of what really mattered. Audrey. There could still be a way. He would never give up. He loved her. He would get her back.

For now, though, he had to focus on helping Haven recover from the meteor shower. The fire department and hospital had taken care of a lot of the work already, but there was still much left to be done. It wouldn't be hard to keep himself busy, and they needed an extra hand. That was his job. That was what was important right then. He had to keep reminding himself. He helped for a couple of hours until he couldn't stand it anymore. He went to see Vince and Dave.

"How can we get them back?" He greeted them with the question that had been on his mind since a few days before. They knew what he was talking about. They had been through the same thing. These men had lost Sarah. Even if they didn't know how to get her back, they would at least know what not to try. They would know something.

"We don't know." It was Vince that answered. He had a regretful look for a moment, but his face quickly returned to its passive stare.

"We tried when she was Sarah. There isn't a way. We did everything we could." Dave looked Nathan in the eyes with a sorrow that both understood now.

"No. No, you didn't." He walked out of the Herald. Nothing would crush his determination. He would find something the brothers hadn't.

* * *

Audrey struggled to stay awake, but her eyelids felt so heavy. She could feel herself slip into a fevered sleep.

_It was like she was all of them at once. She was still more Audrey than Sarah or Lucy, but she could feel the boundaries becoming less visible. For a little while she was all of them. First she knew everything they knew. Remembered everything they remembered. Then she forgot which life to try to hold on to. They all felt real to her. But they were slipping away from her. One second she was all of them; the next she was none._

_ It was too confusing. She couldn't hold on. Where was she? Who was she?_

That was an odd dream. Of course she knew who she was. She heard the doorbell that had woken her up. She climbed groggily out of bed and opened the door.

"Terro, we've got a new case for you." Agent Howard stood in front of Lyssa. He didn't seem to take notice that she wore only yoga pants and a tank top, which hugged her curves. She felt a bit embarrassed to appear in front of her boss wearing only that.

"At," she paused for a second as she turned around and checked the clock, "7 a.m.? Bit of an early call, don't you think?" She sighed, "What is it?" Though she wouldn't admit it to him, she really didn't mind the early call. She had been bored in her free time. It was good to have a case again. She sat herself down in an armchair that probably needed some cleaning. She looked expectantly at her boss for more information.

"Murder. A trail of bodies. The criminal calls herself Aly. She's heading for a coastal town an hour or two away, Haven."

She nodded, "You can leave the folder on the table. I'll get right on that," she looked at him then added, "You can go."

"Right. Good luck. You can take that vacation time anytime, you know."

"Trying to get rid of me?" She smirked and gestured for him to go. He let himself out. She got ready to go to this new town. She looked at the maps he had left in the folder. It didn't look like too hard a drive. She climbed into her car, a sky blue jeep, which she had kept for nearly 4 years.

* * *

Duke watched his friend fall asleep. They took her to some apartment they had rented for the purpose. Agent Howard was still there, and he would take care of that part. He supposed she had to get to Haven somehow.

Arla had woken up. Duke felt like he must have somehow pissed her off. She seemed to be mad at the world and everyone in it. She lost her skin and waited 27 years for a man who rejected her. Still, it was hard to feel sorry for her. She had killed so many people for the body she was in right then. Duke could see through her disguise in here. It was disgusting. He wondered if she thought it was worth it. He didn't think she did.

He tried to ignore the disgusting serial killer sitting in the corner. He ended up thinking about Audrey more than anything else. He hated how they hurt her every time. If they were going to use her to stop the troubles, why did she have to change memories each time? He didn't see how all her different personas made it easier for anyone. Why did they have to make her so human? It would make it much less painful for everyone if she weren't so important to people. She loved people. People - namely him and Nathan - had loved her. He hated how they would brake a woman time and time again to save their own asses. He didn't care if the troubles were there as long as she was.

Next time he saw her she wouldn't even be Audrey anymore. Who would she be next? James said they would get to meet her when it was time for her to go back into the barn. James and Howard both said it wouldn't feel like much time had passed at all.

That was when it hit him. It had been 27 years. If he could get out, wouldn't everyone he knew be much older? What would have changed? He knew he could rebuild some sort of life for himself, but it would be hard, and there would be a lot of questions asked that he didn't have the answers to.


	3. Welcome Home

Twenty-seven years for this day. She had kept him waiting for so long. He had told enough people "no" to know what he was giving up for her. He knew it was worth it. He only needed her, no one else. Even if she didn't remember him, she would still be Audrey underneath.

He remembered the beginning. He had been so determined. Of course. He had loved her. He would always love her. That was why he hadn't left town. That was why he hadn't met anyone else. He was holding out for someone special. He knew he would have his heart broken again. She would have to leave.

Besides, though he had aged well, he would be much older than her. It didn't really matter; he could still protect her no matter the age difference. He knew he had no chance with her. He wanted to, but he couldn't. Was this how Vince and Dave had felt? The years aged you and took away your hope. At the beginning, you always say you're not going to end up like that, but by the end you do. He didn't know if he could stand watching her from the sidelines.

There she was. Amazing. No amount of preparation could have prepared him for this. He never could have forgotten her face. The only thing that was different this time was her hair. Instead of blonde, it was light brown and densely curly. It reached to about the bottom of her neck. He tried to hide his emotions when she approached. He had to play his part perfectly.

She flashed her ID, "Lyssa Terro, FBI. I've been sent to investigate a trail of murders left behind by Alecia Naril. More victims?" She was already so much like Audrey. He couldn't wait to get to work with her again.

* * *

She gave him a look that clearly said that it was his turn. "Nathan Wuornos. Haven PD," he showed Lyssa his ID, "Yes. The body was found a little over an hour ago." She leaned over to investigate the body.

"Male. Approximately 20. That's odd," she frowned.

"What?" Nathan crouched next to her to see what she was looking at.

"It looks like he burned from the inside out," he didn't look surprised, "But that's impossible. People don't just spontaneously combust." He gave her a knowing look. She trusted him for reasons she couldn't explain, but she didn't like all these little inside jokes he wasn't sharing with her.

"We could do some tests to see if you're right." He was humoring her.

"Okay, what do you know that I don't?" She gave him a firm look. He pretended he didn't know what she was talking about.

"What do you mean?' He gave her a cute confused look, and she couldn't hold back a smile.

"You know what I mean. You're humoring me. What did you see that I missed?" He had a strange look on his face like he was remembering something. She was going to ask what was on his mind, but he would just deny he was thinking about anything in particular. Besides, his expression had already returned to a casual glance. She hoped all the people of this town didn't keep this many secrets.

"Nothing. I don't know what you're talking about. You want a drive to the station?" He gestured at his car.

She shook her head, "I do want to see the station, but I probably shouldn't leave my car here. I can follow you."

"You have a car?"

She nodded, "That would be how I got from Boston to here. Bit slow, aren't you?" She didn't see why that would be surprising to him. She wasn't sure how long she wanted to stay in a town where spontaneous combustion was the norm but it was odd to have a car.

* * *

The first little while had been painfully boring. It was hard to keep conversation fresh after the first couple hours. That wasn't a problem anymore.

Duke's world spun around him. He felt sickeningly dizzy. He didn't understand. Were they being punished? He didn't think this had happened the time before, because James looked just as surprised as him when it started. It went on for what felt like forever. Then it stopped abruptly. He felt too dizzy to get up for a minute or two.

Duke was the first to get up. Once he did, he noticed a door that hadn't been there before. There had to be a reason. He struggled toward it, tripping once or twice but getting there quickly. When he tried it, the door slid open easily. Arla rose. She turned to both of them before she bolted for the door at top speed. Duke caught her and threw her to the ground.

"What do you think you're doing? I'm not setting a murderer on the world." Duke stood firm at the door. She shot him a look of pure loathing.

"I tend to side with him on this one." James rose shakily to his feet and joined Duke at the door. Arla stood up again.

"Where do you expect me to go then?" James rejecting her hurt her so much. In a way, he understood. Being the one rejected was never easy. Being told you had to kill people was even harder. But that was where the parallels ended. He had fought his fate. She hadn't.

"We'll have to take her with us," Duke said. James gave him an incredulous look.

"Are you serious?" James was definitely having trouble forgiving her.

"Yeah. Look, if we let her go people could get hurt. If we leave her here she'll just go off on her own anyways. If we take her with us, we keep her out of trouble." James didn't seem to like this solution, but he grumbled something that resembled a yes.

"Alright. Let's go. We can have a look around. See the date and what's changed while we were gone." Duke lead the others through the clearing and saw the little boat he had "borrowed" decades ago. He thought it was odd that it would still be there after all that time, but he pushed the thought away. They rode it back to the town. Something was bothering Duke. As they got closer to the mainland, it got more apparent. Everything was much too quiet.


	4. Expectations

All of the big things were predictable. She liked helping people. She was an orphan. She helped people. It was the little things that surprised him. She could keep a car for long periods of time and drove fairly well. She liked her coffee black. She didn't like pancakes.

It was a shock to him each time he discovered a new difference. He had just gotten used to the part of her that drove her car off a cliff when he first met her. It wasn't a surprise that he remembered she had used to like her coffee with milk and sugar; he had gotten her a cup nearly every day for more than half a year. And pancakes had been their meal since the start.

Deep down, she was really Audrey, though. It was in the way she talked, the way she looked at him. The way she helped people.

She pulled in next to him. He led her into the station. None of the officers had been there as long as him, but a couple, including Stan, recognized her and said nothing. He showed her into his office.

"So do you have any idea where she would've gone?" Nathan thought about the information he had been given on Alecia Naril. It sounded like a trouble to him, but he would wait before telling her about troubles. He didn't have any more evidence than she wouldn't have, other than his knowledge of Haven's secret.

"No, I can't think of anywhere." He tried not to stare at her because that would make things awkward, but now that she was back, he wanted to take in her image.

"Why did she come here? Are there any ties?" Maybe she hadn't been given all the information by Howard.

"She used to have family here. Her aunt and uncle lived in town. They were her first kills."

"Well, that's a start. Do you want to try the house today or wait till tomorrow?"

"Today." Nathan knew now that there weren't enough tomorrows to keep putting things off.

* * *

"How about I just drive you? That way one of us can't get stuck at a light. Besides, you don't know the way."

"You really have a problem with me driving, don't you?" she joked lightly with him. He gave a small smile. "Fine, you can drive. Just don't let me leave my car overnight." She climbed into his Bronco and he started the car. "Okay, seriously, how long have you had this thing? It looks about a million years old."

"Since I was seventeen." She gaped at him then tried to hide it.

"And I thought I was a responsible car owner," she muttered under her breath. He glanced at her.

"Well, Parker-"

"Parker?" Lyssa wasn't used to being confused for other people. She wondered who it was.

"Sorry, Terro."

"Who's Parker?" He looked at her again before replying.

"Just someone I used to know. It's not important." She didn't want to be intrusive, so she stopped prying. For the rest of the car ride, she stared out the window. They didn't say anything for the rest of the ride.

"We're here." She climbed out of the car after him. It just looked like any other house in this town. When she had first gotten this job, it had been hard for her to think of someone being murdered in such normal places. She was more used to it now.

"Well, let's check it out." She walked up the porch steps and to the door. It was locked. She turned back to Nathan.

"Is the door supposed to be locked?" She knocked and pulled out her gun.

"Open up," she called. A boy answered. His clothes were torn. He had messy brown hair and couldn't have been more than five.

"Hey, have you seen this woman?" She looked up and Nathan had already gone back to the car to get a picture from the case folder.

"What's your name?" she asked while they were waiting.

"Joshua." He had a quiet voice and didn't seem very happy about talking to a police officer, but there was also a certain calm element that you didn't usually come across in 5 year old boys.

"I'm Lyssa. It's nice to meet you." He tilted his head slightly as if wondering if she was telling the truth or just being polite. His hand was slightly burned. When he saw that she saw, he grabbed her arm, then quickly let go and ran into the house.

"Hey!" She ran in after him, drawing her gun again. He turned back and looked surprised to see her.

"You didn't get burned." He looked confused. She saw the criminal woman at the top of the stairs. The woman ran as Lyssa pointed her gun. Joshua grabbed her arm tightly, and she dropped her gun in surprise. There was the sound of gunshot as it fell to the floor. She looked to see Nathan's leg covered in blood.

* * *

As Duke piloted the boat back to Haven, he saw why silence had fallen over the town. The streets were entirely deserted. So were the boats and, as far as he could tell, the houses. They looked into windows and wandered the town, but it only confirmed their original theory. They were alone.

"Alright. How about we take a car and drive to Boston. That way we can see if it's just the people of Haven who disappeared." The others agreed with Duke's suggestion. They would wait until morning before setting off.

Duke had never liked quiet. It sounded like death. He doubted anyone would be in Boston, but it was worth a try, and the hope would make them feel better, even if only for a little while. Everything was where it had been. No one had taken their clothes from their dressers or their pictures off the wall or the food out of their fridges. They had just dropped their things and gone, and he doubted they had gone to Boston.

Duke's thoughts kept him awake. He decided he wanted to see the Gull, so he stole a car, which someone had conveniently left their keys in, and drove there. Nothing had changed. No one had taken his beer. No one had even taken Audrey's stuff. He wondered if any time had really passed at all.

He heard footsteps. He looked at the doorway just in time to see a boy, maybe 17, come running in.

"Oh, thank God! There's another person on this planet!" He paused for a second to catch his breath. "I'm Connor. Who are you?"

"Duke." Duke looked at Connor. He had brown hair and pale skin. He was tall for his age but a couple of inches shorter than Duke. He wore a nondescript, gray t-shirt with black sweats and sneakers. Duke wondered if he could trust him.

"So why isn't anyone else here?"

"I don't know. I just woke up one morning and everyone was gone."

"So it's not just in Haven?" Every answer brought more questions.

"No." Duke sighed a grabbed a bottle of wine. Going into a world with all the people missing seemed like a good enough reason for drinking to him. Every answer brought more questions, not that he wasn't used to that after living in Haven.

Duke poured himself a glass. It looked aged. It had fermented for more than a little while. Maybe everything had. He hid the realization from Connor, who he decided he would quiz.

"About how long ago did this happen?'

"I don't know. A couple months ago, I think." That wine had fermented for more than a couple months. Connor - if that was even his name - was lying. Duke tried to keep his expression nonchalant as he swung the wine bottle at Connor's head. Connor saw it coming and caught it in his fist. He slammed it into Duke's head.


	5. Click

Nathan heard the gunshot. She stared at him in shock and horror.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry. I didn't..." She interrupted herself and ran to him. He looked down. The bullet had hit him just above his ankle. Blood covered his foot.

"I'm calling an ambulance." She grabbed her phone and dialed frantically.

Joshua and Aly had run upstairs while his wound distracted Lyssa. They couldn't let them get out.

"Terro, go catch them!" She looked at him like he was crazy.

"You need to sit down! The ambulance is coming in a few minutes." She looked so nervous.

"I can't feel pain." He left out that he could feel her.

"What?"

"It's called idiopathic neuropathy." She seemed to think about that for a second before deciding it was irrelevant.

"You're still hurt."

He nodded, "I'll be fine here for a couple minutes. You're letting them get away!" She hesitated but ran after them. He could hear the roar of sirens. He knew the sound of an ambulance all too well. Nathan limped over to the door and signaled for them.

"They're gone," Lyssa said as she rushed down the stairs, out of breath. She looked nervous and out of place. They loaded him into an ambulance. It reminded him of the night she left, in a way, except that now she rode with him.

* * *

Lyssa hopped on the ambulance. Going along was the least she could do. It would help with the guilt. She had shot a local police chief and let a known murderer get away, and it hadn't even been a whole day yet. Nathan had been so nice to her, but she felt like she was being a hindrance rather than a help.

They got Nathan his own room. Lyssa ducked out for a moment. She had to make a call to her boss.

"Hello?"

"It's Agent Terro."

"Terro. Is something wrong?"

"No. This case just might take a little longer than expected."

"No problem. Just call when you're done."

"Great. Thanks." She hung up and went back into Nathan's room.

"Hey," he greeted her.

"Hi. Do you know when you'll be good to go?" She didn't mean to rush his healing process, but she wanted to get back on the case.

"A couple hours, I think. They have to get the bullet out first and get me bandaged, but I'll be good to go after that." She gave him a small, false smile. He couldn't see how much she cared about what had happened.

It was confusing. One part of her was entirely certain she had met this man earlier that day, but the other felt like she'd known him forever. That odd rhythm their conversations sank into. The way he looked at sometimes, like he was remembering something. They way her connection with him felt deeper than anything she'd ever felt.

She didn't understand it. She didn't know if she was meant to. Growing up, she had never made all that many friends. Even when she had, she had never just clicked with someone before, not like she had with Nathan. She wanted to get to know him better, and she was willing to use as much of her vacation time as needed to do that.

* * *

Duke's head pounded. His hands were firmly tied behind his back. Connor had taken him out of the restaurant. It was enclosed and dark. Nothing decorated the vast gray room. In fact, he was the only thing in the room. It seemed like this place should have a better purpose than tying up one man.

Connor walked in. Duke tried to hide that he was awake, but Connor saw right through him.

"Oh good, you're up," the boy stood over Duke with a pipe, "I was starting to think you weren't going to. Good on you. You proved me wrong." He shot Connor a look of pure loathing. Connor ignored it. "Now, is there anything you'd like to tell me?"

"After you hit me over the head and tied me up? Quite a few things." Connor rammed the pipe into Duke's shoulder. It felt like it was broken. "Is your real name even Connor, or did you lie about that, too?"

"What? I'm not the liar." He crossed him arms at his chest like he was trying to guard himself from Duke's words.

"Well, I think you'd have a more convincing case if you were the one tied up."

"You tried to hit me with a wine bottle. I figured you were hiding something."

"Now, normally that would be a pretty safe assumption, but this time you have it wrong."

"Why exactly did you attack me, then?" It might have been the headache or the wine, but Duke was starting to think that his reasoning might not have been the best.

"I think this has been going on for more than a couple months." Duke kept his explanation brief.

Connor raised his eyebrows. "So, you tried to kill me because you thought that the approximate time I gave you might have been a little off."

"More than a little. And I wasn't trying to kill you." Duke tried to ignore Connor's exasperated look. Connor sighed. "So are you going to let me out of here any time soon?" Duke asked before Connor could speak.

"Why should I? You reasoning makes no sense." Connor shot Duke a stubborn look.

"Because if you don't, my friends will find me." Dammit. Why had he said that? He supposed he could blame it on the hit on the head, but it was still a very stupid thing to say. He didn't want Connor going after the others. He had to protect Audrey's son now that she couldn't anymore, and telling Connor they were there wouldn't help anything.

"Friends? There are more?" Connor perked right up at this announcement. Duke realized he might have some power over him.

"I could take you to them if you untie me." Connor hesitated, but he eventually decided Duke was trustworthy enough to untie, though he only fully undid the legs and only did the arms enough to get him off the chair he was tied to. He retied the ropes on his wrists. Duke knew better than to actually take him to the others. From here on out, he would have to improvise.


	6. Revelations

Nathan hated hospitals. He had visited them far too many times. His trouble, while it took away the pain, seemed to make him more likely to get hurt, if anything. At least they hadn't made him stay overnight. His wound really wasn't as serious as Lyssa seemed to think it was.

"I still don't know if you're okay to go back to work." He couldn't remember Audrey ever acting like this. He almost told Lyssa that, but he stopped himself in time.

"I'll be fine. I just have to use the crutches for a couple of days and everything's back to normal." He wanted to get her off this subject, even though he knew he would give her an edge over the others. She would have a real chance of not having to go into the barn, especially if he told her what she needed to know soon enough. He would make sure she saw a picture of Lucy and Audrey. He didn't have a picture of Sarah, but those two would be good enough. They would get her asking. He would tell her everything he knew. Audrey hadn't even figured out she was Lucy for months after she showed up, so maybe this would give them the time they needed to figure things out.

Lyssa nodded. He glanced her way. She had insisted on driving his car back to the station. He disagreed and said that he could still drive; it was his foot that was hurt, but she had argued that he couldn't brake without his left foot, so he eventually let her drive. He took the opportunity to study her. Other than her hair and, well, her ability to drive, Lyssa reminded Nathan of Audrey in almost every way. Still, after all those years waiting for her, every difference was jarring. Most of the things were small and insignificant. He couldn't expect her to be exactly like Audrey. It surprised him that she was also a FBI agent because Sarah had been a nurse, so he had expected her to have a different job.

They were there. He would have to "accidentally" show her pictures of Audrey and Lucy while they were there. One or two were waiting for him in his desk drawer, though none of Audrey's lives regularly posed for photographs, so they were hard to find. He limped behind her on his crutches into his office. He pretended to be shuffling around in his desk for a couple of seconds, then he pulled out the photos and a few papers. He went to grab the file containing the case information from the other side of his office. She glanced at the pictures then picked them up to take a closer look.

"Who is this?" She gave him an inquisitive look that had Audrey etched into every inch.

"Those are two different people." She studied the newspaper clipping that Audrey had looked at when she came to Haven and a candid shot of him and Audrey working on a case.

"Really?" She squinted at them. "They must be closely related. They look a lot like me, too. You knew her. Who are they?" She seemed more focused on the picture of him and Audrey than the one of Lucy, probably because it was taken more recently and because he was in it.

"Yes. The newspaper is of a woman named Lucy Ripley."

"And the other?" she asked before he had a chance to continue.

"Audrey Parker."

* * *

Lyssa was intrigued by the pictures of two women who looked exactly like her. As an orphan, she had often wondered who her family was. Now she held the pictures of two women who could've been her mother or her aunt. In fact, they could've been her if these pictures weren't taken a while ago.

"Well, I can see the resemblance. So you knew her?"

"She was my partner. She stuck around for 8, maybe 9, months. Then she disappeared. That was 27 years ago. Hasn't been seen since." His tone stayed flat, but Lyssa could tell that had hurt much more than he was letting on.

"I'm sorry; it's none of my business."

"It's fine." She could see him watching her and dropped her gaze.

"What about the other one, Lucy? Did you know her?" She was hesitant to ask, but she wanted to know about anyone who looked so much like her.

"How old do you think I am?" He smiled. "No, I only heard about her. Audrey was trying to figure out more about her; she thought maybe they were related. I met Sarah once, but that was under...special circumstances."

"Who's Sarah?"

"She was here during the '50's." She could tell he had more to say about that that he was choosing to keep from her.

"And you met her." She didn't phrase it like a question, but she tried to make it clear she wanted an answer.

"She was nice. Acted like a woman from the past, obviously. You know, she always wore dresses and stuff." Lyssa sighed at him. He was ignoring her question, but she decided to let it go. She would figure out these little things later.

"Do you know anything else about them?" She awaited his reply. He seemed to be replaying what he was going to say to her in his head. His hesitation annoyed Lyssa. She wanted him to tell her the entire thing, not some edited version he had to come up with first.

"Yes."

"Well, what is it?" Her words seemed to bring him back to Earth. He looked at her, ready to begin his story.

* * *

Duke started by leading Connor along the outskirts of Haven. James and Arla were in about the middle of town, so Connor and him hopefully wouldn't accidentally come across them. It was very windy, and Duke led him into a tree-covered path. The trees swinging around wildly in the wind covered any noise James and Arla could've made, so Duke felt even more assured. His only thought was to get Connor away from the others. He would figure out what to do when he found out he was being played when it came to that.

"Is it much further?" Duke could see that the other man was losing his patience. He wouldn't have much longer. Considering Connor had a pipe and Duke was unarmed, he couldn't come up with anything he could do that wasn't suicidal. It didn't help that his arms were still tied behind his back with rope.

"No, it's coming up soon," Duke lied. He was beginning to get anxious about his predicament. When Connor figured out they were going in the opposite direction from where Duke's friends were, what would he do?

Duke had more questions about this new guy than he could count. Where had he come from? How did he get here? What was he? A part of him wondered if Connor was even human. Duke doubted that normal people came here on accident if the barn lead here.

"Is this it?" Connor looked confused about why Duke had stopped in a clearing like any other just off the trail.

"Yes. We're here." Whatever happened, Duke was ready to stop walking. He wasn't afraid of some teenager or whatever Connor was.

"I don't see them." Duke almost laughed at Connor's ability to point out the obvious.

"I don't actually have any friends. I came alone. I lied." He tried to convince Connor that he had just tricked him, but he could tell he didn't believe him.

"You're lying now." The pipe swung toward Duke's head. He dodged it and fell over. He tried to break the rope that bound his wrists, but it was too strong. He rolled over to dodge the next swing. He threw his feet up, and at the next swing, he caught the pipe between them. He tried to club Connor in the head with it, but it just swished through him like he wasn't there. Connor laughed.

"This is my world! You can't kill me here. Catch up with you later, Crocker." He disappeared without a disturbance in the air.


	7. Settling

It had gone just as Nathan had hoped. She had seen the pictures and been curious. She had asked all the right questions. Now he wasn't sure if she knew what to make of all the new information.

"No. I-I can remember things. I can't remember the things you're talking about, but I can remember other things. When I was seven, they forced everyone to take part in this stupid Christmas play. I was just in the choir, but I somehow managed to fall off the stage and break my leg. I was in a cast for weeks. How can I remember that if what you said was true?"

"You have another woman's memories. There's another Lyssa Terro out there who made those memories."

"Can we find her?"

"We can try. I've already sent out an APB."

"How do you know there's another me?"

"I met Audrey's. Audrey met Lucy's." She nodded slowly and sat back in her chair. Her eyes went to the ceiling. He knew anyone would have a hard time believing him, but she seemed to be accepting what he was saying, even if she didn't understand it or like it.

"Okay. Send out the APB, I guess. We should probably get back on our murder case."

"Probably," he said while handing her the case file. "Have you ever heard of the troubles?" He knew he needed to stop dropping all these big answers on her at once. It had to be overwhelming. He knew every bit of work they did on this case without her knowing about the troubles would be useless, so he had to tell her.

"I think you mentioned them before. You said I bring them with me, but you didn't say what they are."

"Okay, well some people in Haven can do special things, like bring everything they build to life or affect the weather. Some people call them the cursed. We call them troubled. Mine is that I can't feel anything. Another example might be burning people from the inside out whenever you touch them." She sighed. She looked like she should take a break.

"Actually, I think I'll take the rest of the day off. I need time to," she hesitated while thinking of the right word, "um, process." He met her gaze for a second and saw that he really had overwhelmed her. He could understand that, but a part of him remembered Audrey coming to work despite finding out that she was Lucy and not sleeping for days. Even after that, she hadn't left without protest. Now, Lyssa left the building at her suggestion and walked out to her car.

It amazed him how vivid his memories were, especially after 27 years. In a way, she had been the most important thing in his life since he had first met her. Even after she was gone, he had based his life around her. There was no doubt in his mind that he had spent every moment of that time waiting for her. He could have built a life for himself. He never disguised what he was giving up.

There had never been a question of whether it was really Audrey before. He had met Sarah and believed since then that, no matter what memories she had, she was always Audrey if you looked close enough. Now he knew that there was a difference. Lyssa was someone separate from Audrey, just as Audrey had been separate from Lucy and Sarah. When he had seen Sarah in the past, he had thought he would never see Audrey again. He had been settling for a girl who was almost exactly like her. The same thing was happening again. He knew this time he was past trying to disguise what she was to himself, though.

* * *

Lyssa was confused. That was the only word for what she was feeling. A man she had just met had told her that her entire life was a lie. Maybe he was the crazy one. Yeah, that was it. She was just being played. She should've known better than to trust him.

But she knew that wasn't right. She had known since she had first seen him that she could trust him. It was her first instinct, like there was something inside her that told her he was a good person. The atmosphere in the station had been suffocating, though. He was worried about her, like he had expected her to be perfectly okay and she hadn't gone along with his perfect plan. How could she already be okay? Her life was lived by another woman, and she stole it. So she left. She just needed a little break. Tomorrow, she would be back on the job like he wanted her to be. Tomorrow, she could pretend to be okay.

It wasn't tomorrow yet, though. Right now, she didn't have to be strong. She could just be her. Or at least she could be what she had previously viewed as herself.

Where could a decent bar be hiding? Forget decent, there were no bars at all in this part of town. She remembered Nathan saying something about the Grey Gull, a bar he and Audrey had frequented with their friend Duke, who had disappeared with Audrey. He had said that had been abandoned since they had disappeared, though, so obviously she was out of luck there. She knew there had to be another bar around somewhere, but she couldn't find one for the life of her. Maybe it would be better to drink alone at the bed and breakfast Nathan had mentioned like he had expected her to already have plans. She supposed she had to stay now. She could probably find some beer at the supermarket. It would be cheaper anyway. She would continue surveying the town for a little while before she settled on store-bought beer, she decided.

She pulled over. If nothing was real, there was a call she had to make while she was still sober.

"Howard?" The hand holding her phone shook. She tried to maintain a tighter grip.

"Terro? That was faster than I expected." She wasn't sure what to do next. She had just been talking to him earlier; what had she expected?

"Who is Audrey Parker?" She was slightly afraid of his answer.

"Audrey Parker? I don't think I know anyone by that name."

"Stop lying." She didn't know what she wanted from him. Maybe she just needed a simple answer.

"Where did you hear that name?"

"One of the locals. What about Lucy Ripley? Sarah Vernon?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." She hung up.

Liar. He was just another idiot. She wanted confirmation. She needed more than one perspective before she could consider it a done deal. She didn't know what she really wanted. Right now, she would settle for beer.

* * *

Duke lay in the clearing looking at the spot where Connor had been a couple seconds ago. He breathed out slowly. It was over. He struggled to his feet. James would probably be able to help him with the ropes that kept his wrists together.

It was Connor's world. That was what he had said, and with the weird disappearance power, Duke felt inclined to believe him. Now the question was how to get back to his own.

Then he saw her, but it wasn't her. Not Audrey. He saw Lucy. He leapt up and sprinted awkwardly toward her. She looked up at him.

"Duke?"

"Lucy. I can't remember you very well. Why did you give me the necklace?" She looked as out of place on this tree-covered path as he was.

"I needed you to show the next me. Audrey. She had to learn more about me."

"How can you even recognize me? I think I've changed a bit since then."

"I don't know. Things are...clearer here." Now that she said it, Duke knew it was true. Except for Connor. He was foggy as ever.

"Have you ever met a guy, 17 or so, who calls himself Connor?" She gave him a knowing look.

"I don't like him."

"Well, he just kidnapped me, tied me up, and vanished into thin air, so I'm inclined to agree." She seemed to just notice his wrists.

"Here, let me help." She came and, instead of taking them off by force, untied them methodically. It only took her a few minutes to unfasten the ropes from his wrists. He shook his hands to regain feeling.

"Thanks." He studied her for a moment before continuing, "so what is this place? Who's Connor?"

"This place...it's where he keeps us after we've been used. You aren't supposed to be here. Wait, does you being here mean that James is, too?" He could see the hope on her face. He wondered how long ago the last time she'd seen James alive had been.

"Yes. I can take you to him. Is Audrey here?" Maybe she wasn't gone. Maybe she could be saved. Duke had tried to keep the thought out of his head since he had watched her fall asleep, but now that it was a true possibility, he could feel a weight being lifted off his shoulders. It was like he could breathe for the first time since he had watched them take her away. Lucy looked the same way.

"Good." She smiled to herself. "Yes, Audrey's here. I don't know exactly where, but she can't be too hard to find. She came on schedule, and there's not really anywhere else to escape to. Can I see James now?"

"Yeah. Here, he's this way, or, I mean, he was when I last saw him." She nodded and started off ahead of him. He followed, excited by the idea that he might get to see Audrey again.


	8. Countdown

Nathan didn't want to count the days, but he couldn't seem to think about anything else. He had figured out when the next Hunter would be long ago. He circled the date in the next year's calendar, which he had already bought because he figured he wouldn't have much time once the troubles were back. Now it sat there with only one date marked, June 18, 2037. He couldn't lose her again. He wouldn't. She would have an edge over the others.

Nathan decided not to bother with his crutches. He wasn't badly hurt. He crossed his room and crossed out the day before. Today was October 8, 2037. One day with her had passed. 247 still remained. It seemed like a lot now, but he knew how quickly those days would go.

It was lightly drizzling, Nathan noted as he glanced outside at his thermometer. It was about 40 degrees, which wasn't cold for Maine, but he put on his heavy coat. It was better to be safe.

He climbed into his car. It wasn't actually the same car he had gotten when he was seventeen. He had owned that car for as long as it could be used, but after decades, it just broke down. So he bought a new one that was just like the old one. He wanted things to be just like they were with Audrey, and besides, he had really liked the car.

She was already at the station. She sat at the desk that had always been hers. He hadn't let anyone else in town touch it. She didn't notice him walk in. He wondered how long she had been there.

"What are up to?" he greeted her loudly, and she nearly jumped out of her seat.

"You surprised me!" He smirked at her wide-eyed stare as she caught her breath. She started laughing as she sat back down.

"You're here early."

"I just wanted to take another look at the case. You know, the murder."

He nodded, "We need to find Joshua before he hurts anyone else." He looked at her closer. "Did you get any sleep at all last night?"

"What? Um, no." She looked distracted. He wondered how much work she could really have gotten done in this state.

"Alright, go home."

"What?" She looked at him like he had announced that she had grown a third head.

"Go home. You can't work in this state. The case will still be here when you get back." She didn't seem happy about it, but she left.

* * *

Lyssa stomped out of the office. She was just trying to make herself useful, and she thought she was taking it all pretty well. Who would have been able to sleep after that? She was bursting with questions.

She climbed into her car, a dark green Prius, and it started without her needing to put the keys in the ignition, as always. She remembered Nathan saying something about Duke, the man Audrey had taken into the barn, owning a restaurant, the Grey Gull. Nathan had mentioned about where it was. Lyssa had to see it. Audrey hadn't just been there, she had lived there, gone there in her free time. Part of her wanted to devour any knowledge she could get on who she had used to be, but the other part just desperately wanted something that was only hers.

Curiosity brought her to the door of the Grey Gull. If she had been here before, there was nothing to suggest it. The sight didn't trigger any memories. She didn't know what drew her to it, but she climbed the steps to the second floor and tried the door to the apartment. It gave easily. Nathan had said she lived here, but she couldn't imagine anyone living there, at least not in its current state.

It didn't look habitable. Broken things littered the floor. There was a large blood stain right next to the torn and stained couch, and some had splashed on it. She spotted a picture buried in all the rubble. It was lightly splashed with blood, but she could still make out two figures. Audrey and Nathan. She was about to put the photo back when she noticed that it was taped to a note. On one side there were only two underlined words.

**Trust them.**

Lyssa knew what Audrey meant. She had to trust Nathan and Duke. She turned over the note and saw two letters, one addressed to her and one to Nathan. She read the one to her first.

_Dear Next Girl,  
I don't know you. If you have any questions, just take them to Nathan and Duke. They know things. They can help. I wish I could have stayed, but I know you'll make the same choice. That's how they trap us. I know you and my boys can figure out another solution and stop the cycle once and for all. Take care of them.  
Good luck, Audrey_

She studied her letter for a while longer. Lyssa could hear how much Audrey cared about them. She would give anything to remember. She looked at the second letter, which was addressed to Nathan.

_Dear Nathan,  
I hope you get this. I know you keep telling me we'll find another way. I hope we do, too. I hope more than anything you don't need to get this, but I think we've both known for a while that it's unavoidable.  
I just need you to know that I love you, Nathan. I always have and always will. Please take care of me when I come back. I'm trusting you, Nathan. You're the one thing I can't lose.  
Love, Audrey_

For the first time since she had met him, Lyssa felt like she had some idea what Nathan was going through. He had lost the woman he loved, and now her carbon copy was trying to get a job with him. No, she had no idea what he was going through, but at least now she knew. She pocketed the letters.

* * *

Duke told Lucy what part of Haven they had been camping out in, and she knew the way. She walked fast and didn't hesitate for a second. Duke was too preoccupied trying to keep up with her as his head throbbed to make conversation. When they got there, Duke saw James.

"James?" Her voice was shaky like she wasn't sure if this was real or not. His eyes revealed the same cautious, hopeful smile as his mother's. The rest of his face kept his worried, scared look, and that spreaded quickly into his eyes.

"Arla...she's sick. I don't know how to help her."

"Arla's here?" Lucy looked at both men but dropped the subject quickly. "Where is she? I'll see what I can do to help." James nodded but seemed to be having trouble shutting off his feelings of betrayal from when he thought she killed him. Duke followed the two behind a building, where he saw Arla lying on the ground. She looked like she was near death. "How did she get like this?" Lucy crouched over Arla. "She woke up this morning with a bad cough. She's only been getting worse since." Lucy checked her pulse, but Duke knew they were both thinking the same thing. This wasn't natural. Connor caused it. Arla had a fit of coughing then stopped moving. James's eyes widened, and he backed up quickly. Lucy checked her pulse again then got up and stood by James.

"James, I-" He ran off. She sighed but didn't make to stop him. She looked at Duke. A couple minutes later, she said, "He needs to grieve. If we give him time, he'll come around." They stood in silence for another few minutes before Lucy added, "I'll help you find Audrey."

"Thanks," Duke replied. She stepped in front of him, and again, they traveled without speaking.

There she was. It was real this time. There was no illusion, no trickery. Audrey Parker stood in front of him on the docks. She hadn't seen him yet. He moved toward her, and she heard his footsteps.

"Duke?" She smiled and encased him in a tight hug.


	9. Walls

Nathan worked alone on the case, trying to connect the dots and see where they would go next, but he couldn't concentrate. He would let Lyssa get her rest for now, but he wanted to work with her on this. She was better at helping the troubled, but his real motive was much more personal.

Nathan saw her car pull in. She didn't look any better rested than before.

"So I assume you didn't actually spend any time at the bed and breakfast." She did nothing to deny his theory. She slapped a torn piece of paper on his desk.

"What's this?" He picked up the paper. Blood had long since dried into it. Text was inked into the paper. It was Audrey's handwriting. A letter to him from Audrey. He read the note.

No. Audrey couldn't love him. That made it harder. He had to get out of here. He had to get away from the girl who wasn't Audrey.

"I have to go." He grabbed his coat and headed toward the door.

"I'm sorry." He didn't respond. He knew she was sorry, just not for the right things. He found himself with the same determination he had the night she disappeared. He thought that had dissipated, but here it was. He would get her back. She loved him. There would be a way.

Nathan sat in his car. He wasn't sure where he wanted to go. Away. He let his subconscious drive him where it would. Somehow, he ended up at the old newspaper place. Vince and Dave had died years ago, and it hadn't been bought since.

He could vaguely recall coming in here 27 years ago and asking Vince and Dave for help. They hadn't been able to then. He climbed out of his car and went into the now empty building that had a "for sale" sign out front. It was just like it should have been. Nathan didn't know what he had expected, but it made him even angrier. No, this wasn't the right place.

Ten minutes later, Nathan sat in his Bronco outside the Grey Gull. This felt like the right place. He hadn't set foot in there for years. It must have been where Lyssa had found that letter, but he couldn't think about that. He had to think about saving her and the clues he would find in there to help with that. Nathan climbed the stairs to Audrey's room. He knew immediately that the writing on the wall in what looked like blood hadn't been there when Lyssa was. She would have told him. The blood looked dried into the wall, though; it would have taken more than a few hours.

TUESDAY. NOON. COME ALONE.

The next Tuesday was the thirteenth. Nathan would do anything if it would get him Audrey, including follow a message written in blood on a wall.

* * *

Lyssa felt awkward sitting in a police station she didn't work in, attracting glances from only the oldest officers. The next time that officer - wasn't his name Steve? - looked at her, she smiled and waved. He looked down quickly. She went back to the case.

A couple minutes later, she just shut the case folder. She couldn't get any work done. She knew where he would go. He would look for more things of Audrey's, or maybe for things that would help her, in her room. Lyssa knew at least one of them should have been working on the case, but her focus had been flighty these last few days, and she couldn't keep herself from going to the place she knew she would find him.

His blue Bronco was in the parking lot, just as she expected. She hoped visiting him here wasn't rude or snooping. There was no way for her to know what had happened between Nathan and Audrey. All she knew was that she trusted Nathan instinctively and wanted him to be okay. How much of that came from Audrey?

She saw Nathan exiting the building and approached him.

"Nathan," she said, trying to get him to stop walking and look at her. By some miracle, he froze and met her stare.

"I'm alright. Thanks for showing me the letter. We should get back to the case." He wasn't telling her everything.

"Find anything useful in there?"

"I don't think there's much of anything left to find. What was on the other piece of the note?" Lyssa wondered how he found out about that.

"It wasn't for you."

"Who was it for?"

"Me." Nathan's face remained impassive, but she could tell that a lot was going on in his head.

"Can I read it?"

"Fine. Knock yourself out." She pulled the note out of her pocket and tossed it to him. He caught it and uncrumpled it. His eyes followed the lines. She could see what he was feeling by looking into his eyes. He hid it well, but he was not unaffected.

"Come on, we should get back to the station. If we take much more free time, we'll be fired," she said, trying to change the subject and lighten the mood.

He nodded, "Probably." Both walked back to their cars. Lyssa wondered what Nathan was keeping from her.

* * *

Duke squeezed the tiny blonde he'd thought he would never see again. She pulled away from the hug first.

"What are you doing here?" Her face was filled with a mixture of happiness and worry. This was where they were trapped. She didn't want him stuck here, but he didn't care. Relief was all he could feel. She wasn't dead or lost. She looked as surprised to see Lucy as she was to see him.

"Lucy?" Audrey walked closer to the other woman. The two looked exactly alike except for their hair and eyes. Both of Lucy's were brown, while Audrey's hair was golden and her eyes bluer than the ocean around them. Duke could recall when Audrey thought Lucy was her mother. For months, she had stayed in Haven holding onto the hope that her family had used to live in Haven. When she found out that wasn't true, she had been cupcake-bound for days. He wondered how Audrey felt now, looking the woman she had spent months trying to find information about in the eye.

"Yes. I suppose you'd be Audrey, then," Lucy said without a hint of a question. Duke could see a fierce curiosity in both women's eyes.

"You've heard about me?" Audrey's eyes flicked to Duke then back to Lucy.

"Not much, actually. I knew about you before he showed up," she added in response to Audrey's glance at Duke.

"Okay. Where are we?"

"This is the place he puts us when we've been used. All of our, well, all the different memories we've had go here."

"He?" Duke smiled to himself. That was Audrey, always finding the important details. She was a quick thinker, and that made her a very capable investigator.

"He calls himself Connor. He has control here. Always has, as far as I can tell. Right down to when the first girl came."

"Who was the first girl?"

"The first memories taken from another person - I don't know who we were originally - was Amelia Brenton. She was a teacher, given a job in Haven after she quit her job in the city. Ended up helping a lot of troubled people, especially kids." Audrey nodded distractedly. Lucy didn't seem entirely focused on their conversation either.

Duke interrupted their conversation, "Is there a way out of here? I want to get back to my Haven." Lucy looked thoughtful.

"Well, there might be. Connor traps us here, but I'm not sure if he could do anything to stop you if you tried project yourself onto the other world." Duke knew what he had to do.

"Tell me how."


	10. Visitor

She had known. His words hadn't gone beneath the surface. Was letting go of the hope smart? He remembered needing to know she would be okay she would be okay, even when a part of him knew she wouldn't. She was so much stronger than him.

He hoped this time he could really save her. Another missed opportunity would kill him.

One more day. He wasn't sure why he had counted the days to meet a stranger who had wrecked Audrey's apartment and written in blood on her wall. Any news was good news at that point. He was tired of waiting. Things had one more day to fix themselves, or he would do it himself, regardless of who showed up to the meeting. Maybe he needed to go get something done. In more ways than one, he had been frozen since Audrey had gone into the barn. He was just stuck; he hadn't been able to move on. He thought that Lyssa would help, but she was only making it harder. Much as he might try, he couldn't just get over Audrey. The only other solution was to get her back, so that was what he would do.

Nathan couldn't concentrate on anything else. He knew there were troubled people they needed to be helping. God, they hadn't even finished their first case, but with his inability to focus and her being confused and hardly sleeping, they weren't the best pair for the job. Nathan gave all the extra workload to Stan, who took it without a word, though Nathan knew he must not have been entirely happy about it, especially since he was thinking about retiring soon.

It seemed to take forever for the day to come around, but eventually it did. Nathan drove down to the Gull and got there a quarter of an hour early. He walked into the bar he had frequented so many years ago. The place hadn't been cleaned very often, so it was covered in dust, but it wasn't destroyed like Audrey's room. It was undisturbed for the most part; a couple of drinks had been stolen, but that was to be expected.

He didn't know who would come or what they would have to say. The minutes crawled by. Just as the clock changed and it became exactly noon, a man who had gone missing decades ago appeared before him.

"Duke?" Nathan said, surprised.

* * *

Nathan had acted distracted lately. Today he hadn't even come to work, and so Lyssa sat at the empty desk near his that she had claimed as hers when she first came to Haven. She had been told by one of the officers that her desk hadn't been filled since Audrey was there. She supposed it was fitting, but at the same time she wanted to do something Audrey hadn't done before her. Well, she would start by not being married to her job. Lyssa had heard plenty about how Audrey, Lucy, and Sarah helped people, but Nathan was the only evidence that any of them had a personal life.

Maybe Nathan was the biggest part of the personal lives of at least one other version of her, but he had been very nice to her and seemed to care. She justified leaving the station as wanting to get away from work, not wanting to see Nathan. He was still the first thing she thought of when she got out. She could guess where he had gone. He had acted off since they had met in the Grey Gull about 5 days before. It seemed pretty obvious, but it would be a start. She climbed into her Prius.

As Lyssa pulled into the Grey Gull, she saw his Bronco and pulled in next to it. She wondered if he would always be that predictable. Two times he had left, two times she found him here. She was going to get his attention but decided against it. She would see what was more important than work first.

He sat alone in the bar area. It wasn't trashed like the upstairs, but not cleaning for decades had clearly taken its toll. Dust piled on every visible surface, and she couldn't hold back a sneeze. She turned away from the door and sneezed into her arm. She looked back to see if Nathan had noticed her. He hadn't even looked in her direction. He was preoccupied with something else.

Lyssa gasped as the thing Nathan was focused on came into view. She could've sworn there wasn't a man there before. She ran around the corner as Nathan went to check if anyone was there. He seemed satisfied and retreated back inside the building. Lyssa returned to her original hiding place, wondering what Nathan could have been doing with this mysterious stranger.

* * *

Duke had been eager to get back to his own world ever since he found out that he had landed in someone else's. He wondered why none of the others had volunteered themselves, though. If there was a danger, he thought he should know about it beforehand.

"Any reasons that I'm the only volunteer? I thought all the yous would be lining up for this job." He asked the question to Audrey, but Lucy answered.

"We can't. Connor binds us here. He would probably have a much looser hold on you. We might be able to project you onto the real world. It would be temporary, of course, and in a limited space, but if we could make communication, we might be able to get out of here."

"That's a lot of _might_'s and _probably_'s."

She nodded. "It's an indecisive business. I would ask James, but he might be too closely related. Besides, I don't want to ask him for any favors yet." She said this in the same matter-of-fact tone as before, but this time he could see the worry in her eyes.

"Just asking. So, when can we start?" Audrey smiled at his impatience. Abigail, one of the older versions of Audrey, didn't seem to be half bad at this, whatever this was.

"Another couple of minutes. Relax. It'll be done soon." He studied her. Her hair was inky black and wavy, a bit longer than Audrey's. Her eyes were blue with a sparkling green tint when you looked at them in the right light.

"I've arranged for you to meet with Nathan," Lucy said. Duke wondered what that would be like. He and Nathan had never been able to make good conversation with each other, but Nathan might have some idea what to do.

It was a bit odd to see multiple versions of Audrey standing next to each other. He tried not to think too hard about his situation; it would only confuse him.

"Ready." Multiple pairs of eyes flew to Abigail at her announcement.

"Wonderful!" Lucy took the small gadget. "Good to go?" she asked Duke. He gave her two thumbs up.

She must have pressed a button on the device because he suddenly felt sickeningly dizzy. The sensation lasted a couple of seconds. When his head stopped hurting for long enough to open his eyes, he could see a much older version of Nathan sitting alone in the Gull looking surprised to see him.

"Duke?" Now his expression was back to its normal impassive stare.

"Yeah. Listen, we need your help."


	11. Timer

"What could I possibly help you with?" Irritation was leaking through Nathan's voice. Could Duke have done this at any time? He hadn't had so much as a whisper from anyone for 27 years. Now Lyssa and Duke were both in town. He thought he heard a noise coming from outside, but when he went to check, no one was there. Duke looked almost as surprised to see Nathan as Nathan was to see him. He wondered what Duke had expected to see, then he remembered that the last time he saw Duke had been 27 years before. Some things might have changed since then.

"I'm not sure, exactly. We just need to get back here."

"Who's 'we,' and where are you now?"

"Me, all the Audreys, and James. I'm not really sure where, but it's just like Haven, only with just us." Duke talked fast and tried to explain something he obviously didn't understand very well. If he had heard right, though, then Audrey might have still been out there somewhere. He had tried to keep himself from hoping for something like that. Twenty-seven years of nothing - no hints, no clues, no hope - had taught him not to jump at false hope. Even with his newfound determination, Nathan had trouble adjusting himself to this new environment, where there was hope, answers, and maybe even her.

"Audrey's there?" He tried not to show Duke any of the emotions behind that statement, but he could see that the other man understood. "How can we get her here?" Truthfully, Nathan was also very relieved to see Duke alive, though he was much too stubborn to admit it.

"No clue." Duke looked almost as frustrated as Nathan himself.

Then, to the surprise of both men, a petite brunette appeared. Nathan was even more shocked to see Lucy Ripley standing before him than he had been to see Duke a few minutes earlier. Duke seemed almost as surprised to see the past version of Audrey.

"Lucy. What happened to you not being able to leave?" said Duke. Nathan realized that they had met in this other Haven.

"It appears Connor has let down his defenses some," Lucy explained. "Either that or he's actually weakening." She smiled at the thought. "Besides, I knew you'd screw it up somehow," she added playfully. Nathan envied them. He wondered how long it had been for them. Not 27 years, and they had been getting answers the whole time. Duke had probably even gotten to see Audrey.

"Well, okay. Nathan, you've heard of Lucy." Nathan nodded.

"Anyway, Abigail says we can stay here permanently if we can find a host. You know, a body." She looked at the boys. "Of course, we're not doing that." Her eyes pierced into them, showing that she wanted their agreement. Duke gave it to her, but Nathan was off in his own world.

"So we could get Audrey back here," Nathan thought out loud.

"Yeah, and all we have to do is kill someone. She wouldn't want that, Nathan."

If Nathan heard Duke's words, he didn't respond to them. "What if I have the perfect candidate?"

* * *

Lyssa felt sick. She knew exactly who Nathan was talking about. He thought she was "the perfect candidate" when he was looking for someone to kill for his dead girlfriend? She regretted every kind thing she had ever done for this monster if he would write her off so quickly.

"I don't care who you mean, Nathan, but we aren't," the man said stubbornly. The woman who looked just like Lyssa nodded. It calmed her that these two would defend her.

"She's back. 27 years, right? Well, timer's up. Calls herself Lyssa this time. Still FBI for some reason. And I don't need her; I need Audrey." The man and Lyssa's look-alike were stunned into silence. The woman was the first to snap out of it.

"I still don't know that we should..." She didn't finish her thought. They were visibly less convinced. It made Lyssa nervous. She had to take action.

"You are not killing me, dammit! How dare you try to decide my fate with strangers in a bar?" It was like a flame had been ignited inside her. What had been nervousness and fear turned to anger. He would do that to her because she wasn't *right*, wasn't what he expected her to be, wasn't his precious fucking Audrey.

She looked at him with loathing, but she could already feel the anger seeping out. It made her feel like she was going to be fall over, and the sick feeling returned. Did any of them even care?

The man had looked at her first with shock, followed by acceptance. He didn't know whether they should try to get Audrey back at Lyssa's expense. Lucy wasn't as confused. She could relate more to Lyssa because she wouldn't have wanted to give up the body either. To Lucy, there was even a question of whether Audrey should have been the one to get it if they did take her body.

Lyssa felt like a deer caught in headlights. She backed away a couple of steps, ready to make a run for it. Nathan's expression was unreadable, and she didn't try to decode it that time.

"Of course not. We're not going to do anything against your will." The other man nodded in agreement. Lyssa wondered how she was the one who looked crazy. "Your name is Lyssa, right? I'm Lucy. I'm from the '80's. This is Duke." Lyssa muttered something that vaguely resembled "hi."

Nathan's impassive look had turned to disappointment. She almost felt sorry for him. Almost. She still wouldn't let him do the things he wanted to do.

* * *

Duke eyed this new girl, Lyssa. Her light brown hair wasn't tied back, and it was wildly curly. Faded blue, almost gray, eyes took the place of Audrey's bright blue. She would notice him staring, and he didn't even care. So this was Nathan's hell. Every day, seeing the girl who was almost Audrey, losing every bit of hope he had. He couldn't bring himself to suggest taking Lyssa's body, but he understood where Nathan was coming from. From the way Lyssa was looking at Nathan, she could tell, too, and was just trying to defend herself.

"Look, how 'bout we get Audrey here? Seems like she should get a say," Duke suggested. Lyssa obviously disagreed. Duke knew that Audrey wouldn't do something like that and was just trying to give Lyssa a little assurance. Nathan would get to see Audrey again, too, and after 27 years, he definitely deserved that.

"Yes, let's. I'll go get her," said Lucy before disappearing just as quickly as she had appeared. They stood in awkward silence for a couple seconds. Luckily, Lucy and Audrey returned very quickly.

Duke knew her subtle expressions; first came relief, followed by that smile. He had seen them enough times. She would never look at him like that because she didn't care about him that way. He had long since gotten used to that, so it was easier for him to be happy for Nathan when he was on the receiving end of one of those smiles.

"Hey." Nathan said only one word, just a greeting, but Audrey took it as an invitation to move closer. Lyssa inched further away until she was nearly out the door.

"So, you're the new one? What's your name?" Lyssa looked at Audrey. She seemed to debate whether she should leave and ended up staying.

"Lyssa," she said while walking back into the bar area. She stayed around the edge of the room.

"I'm Audrey."

"I know. I have to go." Duke watched Lyssa leave.

"Did I do something?" Audrey looked around at them.

"Not you," Duke replied.

"Okay. So what do we do now?" Audrey asked.

"Well, presumably if we can get her back in a better mood, Duke's and Jame's bodies are still in the barn, and she could get them. We could go from there," said Lucy.

Duke's head suddenly started spinning like it never had before. He forgot where he was and what he was doing; the pain was all he could focus on. When he could finally get up, Duke saw Connor.

"You better not try that again, or there will be _much _more serious consequences." Connor was only there long enough to tell them that, then he wasn't there again. Duke collapsed back onto the ground. His head still felt like it was on fire.


	12. Recollect

Nathan knew what he did wrong. It wasn't a question of that. He just wanted Audrey back. Maybe the way he just treated Lyssa was not okay, but if it would get Audrey back he didn't care. But now Duke, Audrey, and Lucy are all gone and he's not sure what to do.

_Except... _He could go find her again and somehow convince her to go into the barn, but she had looked mad at him, and he didn't want to mess with her. He reminded himself that Audrey and Duke needed his help and set off after her.

She was on foot, so she couldn't have gotten far. His keen eyes noticed a faint trail of footprints, and he followed after it. The sun had already set, and the trail was only getting more difficult to see, so he followed it quickly.

She wasn't very hard to find, but the coldness of her gaze when he did find her made him want to turn back.

"What?" she asks. The single word sounds like an accusation to his ears.

"Um..." He wasn't sure how to respond, and judging by the look on her face, she wasn't about to take pity on him.

"You want Audrey to replace me," she stated. It was obvious she was trying to do it calmly but failing miserably. Her voice cracked, and she looked cold just sitting there. He didn't know where she was from this time, but he would bet it wasn't nearly as far north as Maine. His instinct was to put his jacket around her and comfort her, but the way she shied away from even his gaze convinced him not to follow it.

"No," he lied. Or maybe it wasn't a lie; he wasn't sure what he wanted anymore. It was all so confusing, and when she looked up at him, her confusion mirrored his.

"Then why would you say that?" she asked. This time it was a genuine question, not an accusation, not anything else.

"I don't know," he said. He felt stupid, like he couldn't answer the simplest of her questions. This shouldn't be the hard part.

"Why?" she asked again, and this time her voice sounded more accusatory. He didn't want to make her mad.

"I don't know anymore! I don't want you to die or go to that place, but I don't want her to either. Besides, that's not why I came here."

"Why did you come here, then?" she asked, her words sounding harder and colder by the minute.

"To get Duke and James back."

She looked confused. "How am I supposed to do that?"

"Lucy said if you call the barn, you can go in and get their bodies. Then they can stay here permanently."

"How do I know if I want them to stay here?"

"Please," he said.

"What, am I supposed to do it just 'cause you want me to?" she asked and drew herself up to her full height. He could tell she didn't like that idea.

"No," he responded quickly, "because Duke and James want you to. You would've done it in a heartbeat before." He didn't have to say what it was before. She already knew.

"Fine," she said, but she was glowering. She walked over and took the passenger seat in his truck without another word.

* * *

Lyssa wasn't sure whether to hate him or not. One part of her told her to hate him because he would play God, pick someone else's life over hers, but she didn't want to. But he didn't deserve for her to forgive him yet, so she would drag it out.

"You can call the barn from anywhere you want, but I guess if you want to drive somewhere else we can," Nathan said. She climbed out of the car immediately, glad they wouldn't have to have the awkward silence of being together in a car and not saying anything.

"Oh. Okay," she replied. She hated how her voice cracked when she got nervous, and she especially hated how he made her nervous. "What do I do?"

"I don't know. Howard said that when you're ready the barn will come, so maybe you just have to, uh, get ready." She resisted the urge to laugh at his suggestion.

She stood there for a moment, then yelled out into the night, "I'm ready for you, universe, if you want to go sending me some cosmic barn thing!" Nathan gave her an odd look, but it also seemed like he was suppressing a smile. "It didn't work," she whispered into his ear, her anger evaporated because of this situation, which suddenly seemed so funny.

"It will," he said, not bothering to hide his smile now. She liked to see him like this; a smile was a rare thing to see on the usually impassive face of Nathan Wuornos. She turned away to face him for just a second and was shocked when she noticed the barn on what was now the side of her vision.

"Oh my god," she muttered, "it actually worked." She walked up to it and felt the rough wood. "So, um, their bodies are in here?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Fine, I guess it's time to go drag some bodies out of a barn," she said and turned away, about to go in.

"I'll help," he offered.

"Great! Let's get going."

"Yeah, we'd better finish before sun-up, otherwise the cops might see us," he deadpanned, and a hint of a smile crossed her features.

* * *

Duke groaned and put his hand to his head. Connor had one hell of an arm. He wanted an aspirin, but he knew they would be hard to come by. It would mean getting up.

Audrey was already up and, though she didn't look unharmed, the hit hardly seemed to bruise.

She looked at him. "Come on, Duke, get up."

"Now, why would I want to do that?"

"You'll live. Get up," she commanded.

"Fine," he said, and he shoved himself to his feet. "Why? There's nothing to see here."

"Usually isn't. We need to get back to the real world." At his look, she added, "I don't care what Connor says. What can he really do to us?"

"You mean besides the killer migraines?"

"Yes. What can he really do to us?"

"Not sure, but I'm sure he'll be very imaginative about it."

"We need to get out of here. Alright, he said this is his world, right?" She didn't look at him for confirmation, but he nodded anyway. "We can't kill him here. We need to get him out of here. How do we coax him into the real world?"

"Well, we already tried just going there," he said.

She nodded distractedly, then lit up. "I think I might have an idea."


End file.
